Physicians new to a case might object to an established care plan. Practice variation, clinical momentum, and how value is assigned by different parties to acute care and comfort measures can each contribute to conflict in these cases.

Physicians must express compassion when discussing risk and success rates of palliative surgery.

Physicians need to help surrogate decision makers to make treatment and end-of-life decisions for those with severe neurological damage by proving a realistic prognosis and maintain strong lines of communication.

Decisions about whether to pursue IVF for savior siblings are difficult to make when probable success rates differ by clinic and evidence is lacking.

Should couples undergoing IVF be allowed to request sex selection for nonmedical so-called family balancing?

Moral distress can be reduced by approaching the patient-physician relationship with empathy and humility, which foster trust and good communication.

While sex selection of children for nonmedical reasons is not prohibited in the United States, the authors believe that sperm sorting should not be used until more safety data are available.

An exploration of what could have been done to help the immigrant family of a severely ill child with his care.

For some patients whose survival is extended by disease-modifying interventions, little guidance about clinical and ethical complexities exist.

Word usage and intentional clarity will influence how patients feel about that Whipple pancreaticoduodenectomy surgery.